Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Belize instead of Panama, you would:
Health
live 6.0 years less
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In Belize, that number is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.
be 15.1% more likely to be obese
In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Belize, that number is 43.4% of people as of 2024.
see 82.7% less spent on your healthcare
Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Belize spends $573 as of 2023.
have 12.8% less access to essential health services
Panama scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Belize scores 68 as of 2021.
be 27.1% more likely to die by suicide
Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Belize, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 60.3% less money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $19,790 as of 2025, while in Belize, the GDP per capita is $7,865 as of 2025.
Life
have 13.7% more children
In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Belize, there are 18.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 81.1% more likely to die during childbirth
In Panama, approximately 37.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Belize, 67.0 women do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 50.2% less on healthcare
Panama spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Belize, that number is 4.2% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 87.0% more on education
Panama spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Belize spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 84.5% less coastline
Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Belize, that number is 386 km.
Safety
be 2.4 times more likely to be murdered
Panama has a homicide rate of 11.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Belize, that number is 28.1 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 2.4 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Belize, they kill 17.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 46.2% less home broadband
Panama has 18.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Belize has 9.8 as of 2022.
live with 40.0% more strain on fresh water
Panama withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Belize withdraws 1% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 66.1% less CO2
Panama emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Belize emits 0.9 tonnes as of 2024.
be 23.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Belize, it causes 21.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Panama vs. Belize
Belize: At a glance
How big is Belize compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.